 | Blog author: Alex Stojanovic Photography: Navneet Johal Published: May 12, 2014 Wacken Metal Battle Canada 2014 Toronto Semi Final - Round 2 The Rivoli May 3, 2014 Wow! It's hard to believe that the semi finals of the Wacken Metal Battle Canada contest are now over, and now it's on to the finals! The second round of the semi finals returned to the Rivoli on a warm Saturday evening to determine the second Ontario winner that will join first Ontario finalists My Hollow and the finalists from B.C, Alberta and Quebec. |
Starting off the night's festivities were the local Toronto veteran metal titans The Blackcloud Syndicate. As any band will tell you, opening the night can be a difficult task most of the time, but that wasn't an issue for The Blackcloud Syndicate, as the crowd was very receptive to their set. As I've said before, when I saw them last time in round 5, they were definitely a breath of fresh air, mainly due to the vocals. Miko Zolefrapandis brings a perfect balance of melodic, harsh and screaming vocals. The vocals also have a very in-your-face feel, which gave the songs more edge. Vocal versatility is one of the major elements of a great band.
Burning The Day took the stage next. It was my third time seeing them, and honestly, they just keep getting better every time I see them. The crowd was really hyped for Burning The Day as mosh pits erupted during every song. The band's music contains everything that a metalcore fan loves which is screaming and melodic vocals and heavy and catchy riffs. The band's music is very chaotic, and the band's precision is unbelievable. One of the tightest bands I've heard.
Endemise was up next. It was my third time seeing the Ottawa blackened death metal titans, and their performance this time was far more superior than the other times I've seen them. However, I still think that vocalist Franky Falsetto could have left out the growling voice when he was addressing the crowd in between songs. As I said before, I find that unnecessary unless you're introducing the next song, but that's just my opinion. They managed to get the crowd interested in their set with a solid performance, and performed a good balance of songs from the two studio albums they have under their belt so far.
Fourth band up was Our Covenant. I had the opportunity of seeing this band in round 2 of the competition at the Hard Luck and they really impressed me. This band was melodic through and through. Nick Sakal's vocal performance absolutely blew me away, and even the harmonized vocals between Nick and guitarist John Lovatsis gave me chills. Nick Sakal sounds like a classically trained vocalist, and it definitely sounds like Our Covenant were the only band in this entire competition that was 100% melodic. Amazing performance guys! You've got a bright future ahead of you. It's safe to say that Our Covenant have become another one of my favourite local bands.
Beg For Mercy closed the night. The band stepped in as a replacement for Shattered Remains, who had to pull out of the competition due to the loss of a band member and not enough time to find a replacement. The band started their set with their female vocalist joining the band on stage for the first two songs, but she then left the stage, leaving her brother to take over on vocals for the remainder of the set. While her brother handles the screaming vocals, she handles the melodic vocals, but her melodic vocals sounded a bit dull. The crowd seemed pretty quiet during their set, and when the singer asked everyone to jump up and down, only a minimal number of people participated, and seemed to have only lasted for about ten seconds.
It was a great night at the Rivoli, and an amazing show. See you at the finals!
Burning The Day took the stage next. It was my third time seeing them, and honestly, they just keep getting better every time I see them. The crowd was really hyped for Burning The Day as mosh pits erupted during every song. The band's music contains everything that a metalcore fan loves which is screaming and melodic vocals and heavy and catchy riffs. The band's music is very chaotic, and the band's precision is unbelievable. One of the tightest bands I've heard.
Endemise was up next. It was my third time seeing the Ottawa blackened death metal titans, and their performance this time was far more superior than the other times I've seen them. However, I still think that vocalist Franky Falsetto could have left out the growling voice when he was addressing the crowd in between songs. As I said before, I find that unnecessary unless you're introducing the next song, but that's just my opinion. They managed to get the crowd interested in their set with a solid performance, and performed a good balance of songs from the two studio albums they have under their belt so far.
Fourth band up was Our Covenant. I had the opportunity of seeing this band in round 2 of the competition at the Hard Luck and they really impressed me. This band was melodic through and through. Nick Sakal's vocal performance absolutely blew me away, and even the harmonized vocals between Nick and guitarist John Lovatsis gave me chills. Nick Sakal sounds like a classically trained vocalist, and it definitely sounds like Our Covenant were the only band in this entire competition that was 100% melodic. Amazing performance guys! You've got a bright future ahead of you. It's safe to say that Our Covenant have become another one of my favourite local bands.
Beg For Mercy closed the night. The band stepped in as a replacement for Shattered Remains, who had to pull out of the competition due to the loss of a band member and not enough time to find a replacement. The band started their set with their female vocalist joining the band on stage for the first two songs, but she then left the stage, leaving her brother to take over on vocals for the remainder of the set. While her brother handles the screaming vocals, she handles the melodic vocals, but her melodic vocals sounded a bit dull. The crowd seemed pretty quiet during their set, and when the singer asked everyone to jump up and down, only a minimal number of people participated, and seemed to have only lasted for about ten seconds.
It was a great night at the Rivoli, and an amazing show. See you at the finals!
| THE BLACK CLOUD SYNDICATE Joe D'Angelo - Guitars Glenn Novak - Drums Graham Scott Anthony - Guitars Miko Zolefrapandis - Vocals Shawn Davidson - Bass www.facebook.com/theblackcoundsyndicate www.theblackcloudsyndicate.bandcamp.com | |
| BURNING THE DAY* Cesar Silva - Vocals Maxim Shelkov - Guitars Matt Metcalfe - Guitars Dmitri Skribans - Bass Steve Mitchell - Drums www.burningtheday.com www.facebook.com/burningtheday99 | |
| ENDEMISE Franky Falsetto - Vocals Dale Sauve - Guitar Will Mctavish - Guitar Alex Aksentyev - Bass David Sauve - Drums www.endemise.bandcamp.com www.facebook.com/Endemise | |
| OUR COVENANT Nick Sakal - Vocals John Lovatsis - Guitars & backing vocals Johnson Wong - Keyboards Billy Love - Drums John Abandor - Bass www.facebook.com/ourcovenantmusic | |
| BEG FOR MERCY Natalie Smith - Vocals Mack Smith - Vocals & rhythm guitars Alex - Drums Ben Kolli - Lead guitars Ben Hitchcock - Bass www.begformercyband.com | |
*WINNER: Burning The Day
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